Senior led Monarchs to East Regionals

Northside senior Jamal Parker goes up for a shot against Southwest during the Onslow County Classic final at Jacksonville High in December. Parker, The Daily News boys’ basketball player of the year, played this season with plenty of support from his family.

Don Bryan/The Daily News

By Chris Miller-Prep Sports Writer

Published: Tuesday, March 26, 2013 at 10:30 AM.

Northside’s Jamal Parker was a standout basketball player without the superstar ego.

He never got caught up in the moment, never let his emotions get the best of him and he certainly didn’t let his success get to his head.

One would never know that the 18-year-old Parker was one of the area’s most prolific players.

But his family members did, and they showed their support for Parker by attending each of his games. And you couldn’t miss them as every one wore neon-colored shirts with his picture on them.

It was just a way for the family to show Parker they cared about him and the Monarchs.

“It makes me feel like I’m loved,” said Parker, The Daily News player of the year for the 2012-13 season. “The first time they brought those shirts I was like ‘Aw, man.’ That surprised me because they didn’t tell me at all.”

The soft-spoken Parker was a celebrity in his own house. The more the season progressed and the Monarchs and Parker continued their good play, the more family that came to watch him play.

Northside’s Jamal Parker was a standout basketball player without the superstar ego.

He never got caught up in the moment, never let his emotions get the best of him and he certainly didn’t let his success get to his head.

One would never know that the 18-year-old Parker was one of the area’s most prolific players.

But his family members did, and they showed their support for Parker by attending each of his games. And you couldn’t miss them as every one wore neon-colored shirts with his picture on them.

It was just a way for the family to show Parker they cared about him and the Monarchs.

“It makes me feel like I’m loved,” said Parker, The Daily News player of the year for the 2012-13 season. “The first time they brought those shirts I was like ‘Aw, man.’ That surprised me because they didn’t tell me at all.”

The soft-spoken Parker was a celebrity in his own house. The more the season progressed and the Monarchs and Parker continued their good play, the more family that came to watch him play.

“Houston, I think, I was the furthest they came from,” Parker said.

And it was worth the trip to watch Parker play.

In his fourth varsity season, Parker, a 5-foot-10 shooting guard, averaged 20.9 points per game to lead Northside to a 25-4 overall record, a share of the East Central 2-A Conference regular-season title, the league’s tournament crown and a trip to the NCHSAA East Regionals in Fayetteville.

Parker was a clear choice for The Daily News player of the year as voted on by the coaches and the newspapers sports staff.

“First of all, our family is very supportive of him. My parents never missed a game ever since he started playing in high school,” said Shirley Satoafaiga, Parker’s sister. “A lot of our cousins all look up to him, I think. We had a lot of family come from Texas and Georgia.

“It really brought our family closer together and it really pumped Jamal up more.”

Yet there were times when Parker didn’t know how many family members were in attendance until he stepped onto the court for warm ups.

“A lot of times we didn’t tell him,” Satoafaiga said. “He would look in the stands and get this look (of excitement) on his face. It made him go ever harder.”

Parker’s family even made the trip to Fayetteville to watch the Monarchs play in the East Regional semifinals against Fairmont.

He scored 23 points in that game, but Northside lost 65-62 on a buzzer beater. The loss didn’t matter, however. Parker’s family was proud of him.

And Northside coach Tony Marshburn was proud to have Parker’s family not only support their star player, but also support the Monarchs.

“Jamal comes from a very good family and from day one they’ve been very supportive of Jamal, but also for the team,” Marshburn said. “Fact, Mrs. Parker called me the day after we lost in Fayetteville and wanted to know if I was doing OK. It’s been great having them.”

At the same time, Marshburn enjoyed coaching Parker.

The player will leave Northside as the all-time leader in points scored with 605, the leader in career points scored with 1,509, second in points-per-game average in a season, No. 1 in most career steals in school history with 235 and most 3-pointers in one season with 74.

“Jamal is one of those kids who came ready to play,” Marshburn said. “He came ready to practice every night and came ready to play every game. “Sometimes that’s hard to find. Jamal always had a reason to be out there.

“The biggest compliment I can give him is that he came ready to play every night. He wanted to win and he played to win.”

And Parker let his play do all his talking.

“He is very humble,” Satoafaiga said. “He doesn’t talk about his game much. He can show you better. He doesn’t do a lot of talking.”

That’s just Parker’s demeanor.

“Jamal has always been that way,” Marshburn said. “He’s not very vocal, although he said more this year than before. When you get him on the floor, he’s a competitor, but he’s never really been one to say a lot. He’s always had the quiet demeanor, but when he puts his shoes on, he’s ready to play.”

And Parker certainly played.

He scored at least 20 points in 18 games and had at last 30 points three times. Parker’s best scoring game came when he scored 34 points in a 73-56 win over Southwest on Dec. 29 in the final of the Onslow County Classic.

He also scored 30 points on Feb. 22 in a 74-62 victory over Clinton in the ECC tournament final and scored another 30 on March 1 in an 83-72 win over North Brunswick in a sectional final win that put the Monarchs into the regionals.

“Jamal can focus on the moment,” Marshburn said. “He realized when we had a big game, but he didn’t get overwhelmed by it.”

Instead, Parker had fun leading the Monarchs.

“This was my favorite season,” he said. “It was nice playing with this group of guys. I want to thank my coaching staff for pushing me. I wouldn’t have gotten this award if it wasn’t for them.”